


synapses, neurons

by immolationfox



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Autistic Character(s), Autistic Ronan Lynch, Gen, M/M, Neurodivegent Gangsey, Nino's Pizza, Post-Canon, spacing out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:55:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29179092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immolationfox/pseuds/immolationfox
Summary: “Ronan wants stimulation like he wants everything,” Gansey said simply. “All or nothing. Nino’s is neither.”
Relationships: Henry Cheng & Richard Gansey III & Ronan Lynch & Adam Parrish & Blue Sargent, Richard Gansey III & Ronan Lynch & Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Comments: 24
Kudos: 90





	synapses, neurons

**Author's Note:**

> if you want autistic adhd ronan written by an autistic adhd dude, this is the fic you've been waiting for. the gangsey is neurodivergent. this is a hill i will die on

“What’s he doing here?” Ronan sneered. Adam twisted in his seat to see who Ronan was talking about. With his mood right now he could have meant a minor annoyance that was an acquaintance from school or someone who wanted them dead. As it turned out, he was referring to Henry Cheng, who was cheerfully making his way towards Gansey’s booth.

“It’s just Henry,” Adam said, knowing it made no difference to Ronan. He still wasn’t one hundred percent about Cheng. His sneer deepened as Henry grew closer, and Ronan hooked a hand around Adam’s elbow and hauled him with him as he slid so that he was on the outside of the booth. Henry would either have to sit next to Adam or next to Gansey, but the important thing was that he didn’t sit next to Ronan.

“I’m not sitting next to Cheng,” Ronan grumbled. Adam patted his arm sympathetically. Gansey gave him a mildly disapproving glance.

“It’s just Henry,” Gansey said, echoing Adam. Ronan groaned and dropped his head back against the back of the booth and stretched his legs out underneath the table, ignoring Gansey’s protest when he kicked him in the shin. Whether it was an accident or not, Adam could not say. Only God and Ronan knew that. Henry, thankfully, sat next to Gansey, throwing himself down in the chair next to him and greeting him with a cheerful,

“Evening, Three!”

Adam tuned him out and took stock of Ronan. He was already getting restless, Adam could tell, itching, burning energy thrumming under his skin. Nino’s did not meet his requirements right now, the background noise of the busy restaurant at dinnertime venturing into the territory of Bad Loud: annoying, bothersome, distracting. It wasn’t Good Loud. It wasn’t a release of energy, it wasn’t running until your legs ached and your lungs burned and then running some more, it wasn’t loud enough to drown your thoughts out until the only thing that existed in your head was the pounding beat. The energy of Nino’s only keyed him up more. Ronan bit down hard on his wristbands and stared out the windows at the passing cars and the street lights flickering to wakefulness. He was just going to tune everything out until they left, and then he would roll the windows down and blast his shitty EDM and race ghosts back to the Barns, and when he got to the Barns he would pace or run or dream or kiss Adam until his knees were weak.

“What’s up with Lynch?” Henry asked, directing the question to Adam. It occurred to Adam that he and Ronan had been skirting around each other when Henry joined the group. They might as well have been together, then, so it obviously made sense to Henry to ask Adam, and not Gansey. It also occurred to Adam that Henry’s tone was genuine. It wasn’t sneering, judgmental like some of the other boys at Aglinoby asked it. _What’s up with Lynch, that fucker, that shithead. That waste of space of a person._

“It’s not… enough,” Adam said weakly. He made vague hand motions. “Nino’s, right now. It’s just annoying.” He looked at Gansey. Gansey probably knew how to explain it better than Adam did. He’d known Ronan longer.

“Ronan wants stimulation like he wants everything,” Gansey said simply. “All or nothing. Nino’s is neither.”

Henry nodded sagely, like he understood.

“Oh, I get that,” he said. “Sometimes at Litchfield House, the regular noise is too much and I have to go sit in my room alone for awhile.”

Oh, Adam thought. He really did understand. Maybe Gansey was more deliberate in choosing his friends than Adam had previously thought.

“Dick,” Ronan said suddenly, sharply. He didn’t look at them, still staring out the window. Gansey sighed, long-suffering.

“Yes, Ronan?”

“Tell Maggot to hurry up with my pizza, I’m starving over here.”

Gansey rolled his eyes, as if he had heard that rolling your eyes was something people did when they were exasperated and decided to enact that next time he was exasperated.

“Jane does not cook the pizzas. She’s a waitress.”

“Tell her to tell the kitchen to hurry the fuck up.”

“Ronan,” Gansey said. Ronan did not respond. His knee was bouncing now as he stared blankly out the window. Adam adjusted how he was sitting and pressed into Ronan’s side. His knee settled. 

As it turned out, the pizza came as Blue went on her break, so she dropped off the two larges and a medium, topped off their drinks, and then threw herself into the seat next to Gansey. She kicked Ronan’s shin.

“Pizza’s here, asshole,” she said, grinning. Ronan came back to the rest of them in slow motion, dropping his hand to his lap, facing the rest of the table, eyes blinking back into focus. He stayed pressed into Adam, though, and no one said anything about it, either by the goodness of their hearts, or because Ronan had come back down to earth to glare at them as he shoved pizza into his mouth. Ronan might be a dreamer, might have made baby brothers and birds and little girls and herds of beautiful deer, but he was still a teenage boy who didn’t know how to _not_ stuff his face with pizza.

“You are disgusting,” Adam said fondly. Ronan eased the glare from Henry, Gansey, and Blue to wiggle his eyebrows at Adam.

“Both of you are disgusting,” Blue said. Adam was touched that she understood that banter and insults was their version of PDA. 

“Says the person with fucking pineapple on their pizza,” Ronan shot back wihtout missing a beat.

“You’re just a coward. You’ve never even tried it and yet there you sit, condemning Hawaiian pizza on your high fucking horse,” Blue grinned. It was an age old argument of theirs, Blue, staunchly defending Hawaiian pizza, and Ronan, leading the charge against the travesty. Henry sided with Blue, Adam sided with Ronan, and Gansey remained carefully neutral, and did not bring up his pineapple allergy.

Henry, Gansey, and Blue were still picking over the leftovers when Ronan knocked his knee into Adam’s and stood up. As he put on his jacket, Adam slid out of the booth behind him. Ronan hadn’t said much after the Great Pineapple Debate died down. He’d been ready to go for the last ten minutes, but he stayed, probably for Gansey’s sake. Ronan had been avoiding Nino’s, though. Probably because of Noah.

“We’re going,” Ronan said when Adam had zipped up his coat. He took his hand. Then he ruffled Gansey’s hair and cackled at his protests on the way out, pulling Adam after him. Adam waved over his shoulder and called his goodbyes, and then they were outside in the chill December air. Adam shifted his stance, putting his arm around Ronan’s waist as they walked to the BMW. Ronan paused at the passenger side door, turning so that they were flush against each other, and wrapped his arms tightly around Adam’s waist. Adam rubbed his hand against the back of Ronan’s head.

“Ready for a drive?” he asked. Ronan groaned.

“I’ve been ready. It was hell in there.” His voice was muffled against Adam’s coat. Then he pulled back so he could look at Adam’s face. “You don’t mind, right? It’s going to be loud.”

Adam shook his head. Smiled.

“I don’t mind. It’ll be fine. Besides, with how fast you’re going to go, we’ll get to the Barns in no time.”

Ronan’s laugh was loud and carefree.

“That’s true,” he said, messing up Adam’s hair and brushing his nose against his cheekbone. A pause. “You look really good tonight.”

Adam exhaled. Couldn’t help feeling pleased.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said at last. “I want you to myself.”

Ronan laughed again, leaning forward to press a quick, messy kiss to the corner of Adam’s mouth.

“Let’s fucking blow this joint.”


End file.
